Intro
This is the 68th story in the Smallville Series and tells the tale of 8 families who resettled the town of Mayville after a deadly tornado cut through the area. It was the 2nd such storm to hit their town located southeast of O'Leary's Farm of story 41 and north of Springfield story 23 which was settled by expedition 13 from Smallville the following year. After the tornado 6 surviving families decided to abandon what was left of Mayville but a short distance from town they met with 2 other surviving families who convinced them they would be wiser to go back and resettle the town because of the wide-spread devastation to the surrounding area. The story begins in late summer of year 52 SVT.
The map seed # 949832329 Valley, Small, Fair, Disasters On, Easy 8 Families
Mods activated for this map and load order are:
Map Changing and Starting Mods: Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain, Jinxie Natural Decorations, Maritimes Riffle, New Flora Edit, New Trees, override Fewer Trees, Family Starts
Tweak Mods: Better Fields, Fishing Dock +25%, Hunting (TS), Increased CC, 1:1 Alternative (Voeille), override Rural Citizens, Rocks Respawn, Tiny Smoke
Major or Must Have Mods: An Empty Square, Nomads (Kid), Storage Crates, DS Jetty and Bridges v1, Jinxie Bitty Chicken Coop, Jinxie Bitty Rabbit Hutch, Jinxie Bitty Village Set, Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Colonial City Center, Kid Colonial Housing, Kid Colonial Resources, Kid Ghost Town, Kid Tiny Downtown, Kid Workplace, Maritimes PEI Shore
Supporting Mods: Carrots, Country House v2, DS Fences and Decorations, Grow Onions, Kid Animal Shed SA2, Kid Deco People, Kid Deco Farm Animals, Kid Garden Shed II, Kid Ghost Flowers, Kid GrowHuntFish, Kid Hedgerow (new, testing), Kid New Pump, Kid Vegetable Garden, Kid Washing Mod, Kid Work Shop, Maypole
Mod note: Kid Hedgerow is a new mod inspired by Kid Fairy Garden mod and a request for a separate hedgerow. There are 3 types and 3 sizes of hedgerow for spring, summer, and fall plus 1 for winter. They can of course be used in any season and any combination. The sizes are a 6x3 garden type, a 7x2 hedgerow, and a 10x1 sparse roadside one. They look much better than they will first appear in the following story. Abandoned Places has been updated with weeds and dead things for this story, the update will probably not be released as we don't think it will be much use to others.
With that said, on with the story.
Prologue
Greetings, weary traveler and welcome to Mayville. I am not surprised that you had not heard of our town or the fact that we were also hit by the deadly tornado of year 52 SVT. Our town had been hit before by nor'easterns that came in from the coast. We suffered many losses and many buildings were still boarded up from the previous storm when the 2nd storm hit, but it was O'Leary's Farm that was hit the worst. That destruction was as devastating to us as our own was, they were kinfolk.
Yes, kinfolk. My grandfather several times removed was an O'Leary who came here on the Maybelle from the old country with other migrating families many years ago. My ancestral grandfather stayed here near the coast with his new bride and her kin who were fisherfolk. The O'Leary clan went further inland to farm potatoes. It's said that I am the spittin image of that founding bride, my ancestral grandmother. My name is Saraina, Sara for short, and my husband is Edwardell.
Ed and I were very young with a newborn at the time. There were only 6 families that survived. As I said, the town was already damaged from the previous storm and many of the older buildings were in sad states of disrepair, many of the survivors of that storm were badly injured and could not do the work, much was neglected. After the big storm, the damage was just too much for those of us who remained. We buried the dead in the old cemetery and prepared to leave for O'Leary's Farm. We were almost there when we met 2 families from that area who told us what had happened to the farm. They convinced us to come back here and rebuilt, they would come with us to help. We did not know where to begin.
Chapter 1
There was not much left of Mayville after that second storm, it was a ghost town, sad and empty. Our jetty system and fisheries were gone, we relied on that tidal pool for fish and seafood. Our trading post and most of the buildings on the west side by the river were also gone. The bridge across the river had been swept away, we had to leave our carts of supplies behind when we left but at least they were still here when we returned. The rabbits from the destroyed rabbit hutch were in the hedgerow. The school, sheep shed, clothes store, and the hardware store were severely damaged. It seemed the oldest boarded-up buildings weathered the storm better than the new ones. The farmhouses across the stream held up well but the chicken coop was destroyed and the crop fields were a mess. There were branches and debris all over town. At least the 2 small bridges that crossed the stream were in tack and Sham who moved back into his farmhouse was already fishing from one of the bridges. We would have enough food for the winter from our carts of supplies and what little the two families had salvaged from their homestead.
Chapter 2
The two couples that returned to Mayville with us were a bit older and more experienced and good at organizing. We were more than happy to let them take charge. They got the men together to go house to house to make sure the structures were sound enough to move back into until proper repairs could be made. Ed and I moved back into our cottage by the tidal pool. With a few minor repairs there were more than enough houses for all the families to have shelter before the snow began to fall.
We would not be able to sit by the fire and wait till spring, there was work to be done. A notice board was put up by the main stockpile with a list of jobs that need to be done. The animal shelters had to be rebuilt first. The school needed to be rebuilt so the children could be watched in a safe place while their mothers helped with the tasks. There was a lot of cleanup that needed to be done, branches to be picked up and added to the stockpile for firewood and plant debris removed from the fields and hedgerows.
The rabbit hutch was rebuilt and as many rabbits as possible were caught and returned to the hutch. Some rabbits were still hiding in the nearby hedgerow that was being cleaned of weeds and plant debris. The chicken coop was also rebuilt and after some chasing all the chickens were removed from the crop fields and returned to the coop. Work on cleaning up the fields had begun, they would be ready for spring planting.
Chapter 3
The sheep were returned to the rebuilt sheep shed and the clothes store was rebuilt and the tailor was making warm coats. The school building was finished and all branches and plant debris was removed from the surrounding area. And then it was spring. The wheat and potatoes were being planted in the crop fields and the hedgerows that had been cleaned of weeds and debris were now thriving. The yellow flowering forsythias bushes were in full bloom and the wild asparagus was coming up. We erected a maypole by the school for May Day as a way to celebrate our new beginning. We had a feeling there would be no springtime festivals in the nearby Shire for some years to come.
There would be plenty more branches to gather but we needed a steady supply of firewood. A wood cutter was built by the main stockpile. Work on the destroyed hardware store had just begun when 2 families who had abandoned their destroyed homestead arrived in town.
Chapter 4
The family of 4 moved into the empty farmhouse next to Sham and Anti. The older couple stayed with them until their expected infant was born and the other vacant house was inspected. They passed it when they arrived. We had forgotten about that old abandoned cottage back in the hills to the south. If I remembered correctly there was a small storage barn, a garden, and a paint house there too. The couple couldn't help but notice the cracked and pealing paint on most of the houses and said they had seen an exhibit on paint making at one of the Shire festivals a few years earlier. They would be happy to move to that cottage and give paint making a try. The cottage was inspected for safety and the couple moved in. They began to clean up the area immediately.
A hunting cabin was built between the paint house cottage and town. We did not have a regular hunter before, every year after the harvest a few men would go out and hunt before winter.
By late autumn the hardware store was rebuilt and making tools. More cleanup was completed and the cemetery had been weeded. Maybe next year we could plant some flowers.
Chapter 5
As soon as the weather warmed in spring, I transplanted wild flax and mayflowers into the cemetery, Ed planted 2 forsythia bushes by the entrance. It was then that 6 adults with 2 children came over the hill from the northeast and it was then that we remembered that big old house by the river. The families had waited for low tide to cross the river then broke into the house to shelter for the night. Their story was much the same as the other families', their small homestead was destroyed. A boatman sent them in this direction, said there was a new town called Springfield settled by an expedition from Smallville that would take them in. He also said there had been some young O'Leary survivors who went north to Sunrise Mountain. We were glad to hear that news but we didn't know anything about a new town to the south. They were welcome to stay with us, we could use the help. The newcomers didn't want to cause us extra work and would stay in that forgotten house until new houses were built.
I asked Ed and a few others what they remembered about that old place and they all said much the same thing, that we were told as children to stay away from it. No one gave it much thought since then. I had some nagging half-forgotten little memory that was buried and just wouldn't surface.
A colonial house was built for the family of 4 by the hunting cabin. They would hunt and help with cleanup. Another small colonial house was built for a single young adult girl back where the paint house and garden were now being renovated. She would work one of the hedgerows. The remaining family still in the forgotten house was a widow with 2 children who was expecting another any day, she lost her husband in the storm. Her adult son was now head of the household. They were very happy to move before winter into the good-sized country house built by the farm fields. Aretzi had another daughter and hoped she would be able to sleep better in the new house even with a newborn. She was awakened several time in that old forgotten house by what sounded to her like someone calling from outside. It was always closer to dawn than during the night, she would then not be able to get back to sleep. It was probably just the wind blowing through the cracks in that old house.
Chapter 6
That winter of year 3 was cold and windy and had us all longing to have our houses renovated. We had a log shortage and thus a firewood shortage as well. We spent a lot of time out in the cold gathering branches and cutting trees. We began scavenging from one of the ruins but we still had way too few workers for the amount of work that needed to be done. We would need paint for the renovations and that would take time. We all agreed the Doc's office behind that ruin should be done first as soon as we had the paint. We also agreed we would need a place to stay while the house renovations were being done, so as soon as we had enough logs, we would build a Lodging house.
As soon as spring arrived we were again picking those asparagus spears by the roadside, and we again looked forward to strawberries from the hedgerows by the renovated paint house. Another hedgerow there would provide sunseeds to snack on and more flax to make the linseed oil needed for the paint house. The roadside hedgerow also provided more flax but, to our surprise, a nearby flock of grouse kept laying eggs in it, we gathered those too. The flax garden had done well but had switched to making linseed oil. It was snowing by the time the first paint was produced.
Chapter 7
We were still short of logs, work on rebuilding the jetty had begun using boards and scrap wood found in the ruins. Not much could be done until the debris was removed from the tidal pool, it was too dangerous. A driftwood collector and boat was built to do the job and provide more logs and firewood at the same time.
In the meantime, Doc's hospital building was restored. It would need some furnishings and linen before it could be used. We needed more paint before starting on restoring our houses. Another flax garden was planted by the paint house, one garden could make the linseed oil while the other produced more flax.
Another of our concerns was the condition of our storage barns and the location of items on our stockpiles. It was suggested that we could build a compost bin and garden supply shed to remove the plant debris from the stockpiles, compost it, and store compost and other garden supplies in the shed. We could build a small growing house later on to use the compost. We thought this was a great idea and were very grateful to have the older couples here with us. They were more experienced and had learned much at the Hobbit festivals over the years, like paint making and composting. Added to that they were always supportive and encouraging, assuring us that we were doing well and the town was progressing nicely. No one ever complained about the poor living conditions.
The compost bin, cleaning shed, and garden supply shed were built along side of the potato field. Extra carts would be kept there for anyone who wanted or needed to use one. One of the farmers said their farm cart had gone missing, was nowhere to be found one morning. It was later found with fish in it by the jetty. Yes, strange. The carts of supplies were still by the barn there and since that barn was in bad shape and almost empty we demolished it completely and built a general store in its place. The other 2 storage barns were almost full, they would need to be emptied, and would need paint.
Chapter 8
While building the general store we couldn't help but notice that not only was the driftwood collector make some progress cleaning up the tidal pool but our log and firewood supply had improved. There was still debris coming down the river which was probably keeping the riverboat traders away, the river would clear itself in time. With more logs and some paint on hand it was time to start renovating the cold drafty houses. The one next to the general store was first. The family chose to stay in the old forgotten house by the river rather than the new Lodging nearby. They did say they thought they heard a voice calling outside early one morning but weren't sure. Maybe that was why the families from the blue house and the white house across from them also chose to stay there while their houses were renovated. They heard nothing.
While waiting for more paint, a new barn was built by the farms. The damaged blue one would be restored after the houses were done. The 2 farm houses were next and both families stayed at the Lodging house in town. So did the family from the yellow house in town, they moved out of the Lodging House as soon as theirs was done.
The tidal pool was vastly improved, there was less debris coming down the river, and clean up of the trading post area had begun while waiting again for paint. Work was stopped at one of the flax gardens so another worker could work in the paint house. A new barn was built so the old one could be demolished. The cottage was next to be restored. We hoped to have the remaining 2 houses in town done by the end of the year.
Chapter 9
The last 2 houses in town were restored before the end of year 7, both families stayed at the Lodging House in town. Ours was the only house left to be restored. Ed wanted to know where I wanted to stay while the work was being done, he knew I was still bothered by that nagging little lost memory. Had I not been expecting another child I would have chosen to stay in that big old house. Our baby girl was born in the Lodging House in summer of year 8 just before we moved back to our restored cottage. That old house by the river was again forgotten.
The trading post had been rebuilt and was being stocked with our surplus of stone, iron, and textiles. Lotte, the general goods merchant, came to port in autumn. He confirmed there were O'Leary survivors. Actually he had sugar cookies to trade from the O'Learys up in Morningside. He knew of some other survivors who were still really struggling, he would tell them they'd be welcome here if they wanted to come. Trade goods of every kind were needed, we would keep that in mind. We traded for those cookies. He also had some seafood and it really had me hoping that work on the jetties would begin again soon.
With the houses restored folks wanted some new furnishings. A furniture store was built in town next to the ruin that was still providing us with logs, stone, and iron. A cobbler shop was built next to the clothing store, new clothes and new shoes were certainly welcome.
We certainly would welcome new residents, we only now had our first 2 school graduates. We had more work to be done than workers to do it.
Chapter 10
In early spring of year 8 my wish was granted, work on the jetty resumed. There was still some driftwood that washed into the tidal pool but most was cleaned up. The fishermen wanted some left along shore for the fish to hide in and breed.
In spring the survivors that Lotte mentioned arrived. There were 11 of them, 3 couples, 1 young child, and 4 young singles orphaned by the storm, that the older couple had raised. They had no school and barely managed to keep the young ones fed and clothed. The couple did a good job because the young adults did not hesitate to pitch in doing work that needed to be done. Two jetty houses were built, one couple took over fishing from the jetty, and young Hayde built a bait shop. Young Renatalind moved into the new Home Goods store upstairs and took over tending the sheep next door in the sheep shed. Zacharlyn moved into the new lighthouse and began cleaning up one of the ruins by the trading post. Two new farmhouses were built for the older couple and their newborn, and another young single. The last young girl, Herline, said she would be happy staying in the Lodging house but Aime in the colonial house back by the paint house moved into the bait shop with young Hayde, and Herline moved into her house.
Work continued throughout that year and well into the next trying to maintain our food, log, and firewood supply. Work on the jetty continued but was slow going. By summer of year 10 we were finally harvesting clams and mussels from the jetty fisheries. The family in one of the jetty houses reported what they said sounded like a wheelbarrow on the jetties at dawn and someone calling. Later that morning one of the jetty carts was missing.
Near the end of the year there was another report of a missing cart. Lotte brought mixed vegetable seeds that we traded stone, iron, and textiles for. He also gave us a handful of tomato seeds that the couple who told us about the compost bin said we could grow in a growing house using the compost. We accepted the seeds and built a growing house by the couple's house. Work also resumed at the cleaning shed and compost bin. One of their carts went missing.
Chapter 11
And then it was spring again and the crops were being planted and the hothouse tomatoes were coming up in the growing house. The new mixed vegetable seeds were being planted in the field closest to the blue shed. The wild asparagus was being picked alongside the road by the Maypole. The fisherfolk were enjoying warmer days out on the jetty fishing and harvesting clams and mussels. One of them asked if it was me they saw early one morning by the new fish market with a wheelbarrow. It wasn't me. We also had a new Town Hall on main street near the trading post. We also had another woodcutter by that stockpile now, there was still the constant struggle for logs and firewood.
Our food supply was very good and the new vegetable crop was doing well. A vegetable garden workplace was built by the blue farm shed to sort the vegetables. There were plenty of beans, peppers, squash, potatoes, pumpkins, and cabbage harvested from the mixed vegetable field and there were still more in the shed to be sorted.
There was a big windmill built by the red barn, it would catch the wind coming over the hilltop and mill the wheat into flour. We began building a bakery in town by the school. We could bake herb bread until we could trade for sugar to make some of those delicious sugar cookies.
There was a note on the notice board in town reminding people to be sure to return the carts and barrows they used to the places they got them from.
Chapter 12
It snowed in early spring of year 12. It gave us some time to think of plans for the year ahead. We needed houses for young people still living at home and we needed another school, there was room for only 1 more student in the schoolhouse in town. We did still struggle with our supply of logs and firewood. First things first, we built another schoolhouse down past the farms. We built a few new pumps around town in case of fire, the first was built by that school which was far from the stream or river.
The woodcutter and smith in town were always looking for logs. There was not much more to salvage from the tidal pool. The large stockpile that was empty most of the time was removed and a wood store was built in its place. A worker could go fetch logs from the other stockpiles. A small stockpile was set up by the smith. A new woodcutter was built across the stream by the farms but there were no logs there at all. We cut a few trees.
The area to the west on the other side of the hill might be a good place for a forester. That area was hit directly with the cold winter wind that blew down from the north across the open moors, it would not be a good place for crop fields or fruit trees. We thought perhaps a garden shed forester by the farm fields would be a quick solution, with a bridge across the stream logs would be available to both town and country residents. A small colonial house was built there as well and a young couple promptly moved in. Hopefully we would spend less time that winter collecting firewood.
Chapter 13
By early spring of year 13 a young single male moved into the new barber shop next to Doc's hospital, another became caretaker of the cemetery where a small colonial chapel was built. Ed and I planted some wild roses by the chapel. I checked on the cemetery plants as I've always done and again I wished I had paid more attention to the stories the old folks would tell us when we were young.
A post office was built by the town hall and trading post. Letters could be left at the post office and the river boatman would try to deliver them. I left a letter for any O'Leary in Morningside who might know anything about our town's history or have any information about that old forgotten house by the river.
Resources were still being scavenged from the 2 ruins by the trading post, the stone would be used as a trade good. The stock pile in front of the post office was emptied and a new one built farther back from the road. When Lotte came to port later in the year we traded stone for sugar and he took the letter.
Chapter 14
In early spring of year 14 we decided to check out the area across the stream and west of the farmlands. The forester by the farmlands was planting and harvesting trees and our log and firewood supply was good. The area across the bridge had a lot of mature trees, some ruins, and some hedgerows. There were a lot of dead trees, branches, and weeds that needed cleaning away. There were shrubs in beautiful autumn colors that should be saved. Some roads were laid from the bridge and from the farmlands, cleanup work began immediately.
Lotte, the general goods merchant, returned in early autumn. Again he had little to trade. There were food and seed shortages everywhere. In recent years it has been colder and snowier in the north, stormier with floods and tornadoes in the midlands, and drought and pirates in the south. He did however bring some news in response to my letter to Morningside. The O'Leary survivors were pretty much the same ages that we were at the time of that second storm so there was not much of the old stories they remembered either but a few of the older ones remembered there was an old ghost story about a fish monger. Seems like it would be from this area near the sea. Interesting. Other news was that one of the survivors had gone back and was resettling O'Leary's Farm.
Chapter 15
Our log and firewood supply was good and so was our food supply. We had a nice variety of meat, grain, and fruits and vegetables. We could not understand why our overall health was not 100% We were surprised to discover that the people who were not in full health were the farm family living right next to a storage barn, and the family living by the school and hunter. Perhaps it was their spiritual health that needed improvement, we built 2 Houses of Healing. We continued to check the food supply and availability and added storage crates and built a small shed down by the school. We gathered wild foods and herbs. Despite our efforts, the overall health did not improve.
The area to the west of the farmlands did improve with the removal of dead branches and plant debris.
Chapter 16
While checking food supplies and inquiring about the contents of families' pantries, we discovered there were a few young people living at home that would like places of their own. Our own daughter, Farra, was one of them, she was 15. We were hoping that she would chose to live close by when she did move out. Two jetty houses were built but the first was then occupied by 13 year old builder, Nathlon, and the second by 14 year old builder, Rodrickey. Ed said there was hope there because he thought Rodrickey was sweet on our Farra. It was hot that summer, and both boys worked early in the morning building those jetty houses, they both claimed to have heard someone with a wheelbarrow out on the jetty. One of their barrows went missing. Once, they had a brief glimpse of someone who looked like me in the morning mist.
The two older couples that joined our town in the early years had their childhood memories jogged by the mention of a ghost. They remembered a story told by grandparents about a fish monger who died of a fever that had swept the area a long time ago.
In early spring of year 16 the newly cleaned hedgerows were doing good. The largest one was producing hazelnuts, sunseeds, corn, and branches. The small one had a walnut tree and a small duck pond, it produced walnuts, duck eggs, mushrooms, and wild oats. The roadside hedgerow produced berries and branches.
The Pilgrim's Rest tavern that was built by that road and bridge jogged a few more forgotten memories, especially those of Xzavie who would be brewer. He claimed to have heard a man singing inside the tavern just after he went out the door. He had been there checking for what supplies he would need before the tavern opened for business. He went back inside but heard nothing. He thought it was the same song that he remembered his grandfather singing. His grandfather was a tavern keeper just like his father and grandfather before him. Xzavie vaguely remembered mention of a tavern ghost.
As hoped, in early summer, our Farra moved into the jetty house with Rodrickey as soon as he turned 15.
Chapter 17
By spring of year 17 a house was built next to the tavern and so was a small shed and stockpile. Xzavie lived with his family in the white house in town and did not want to move. Instead 13 year old Jarrod moved in and took over working the roadside hedgerow. The tavern would brew berry ale since there was a supply of berries right there closeby. Jarrod said he heard someone singing inside the tavern too when no one was there, he could even hum the melody. He did not get close enough to hear the words but men began meeting at the tavern trying to piece together newly remembered words of the song. Some wives thought it was just an excuse for the menfolk to spend more time at the tavern.
It may have been the extra intake of fruit or our carefully planned shed building but our towns overall health had finally risen to 100%. The hedgerow with the plum tree was doing very well and I so much wanted to make plum jam like my mother used to make, it was so good it won prizes at Hobbit festivals several years in a row. A jam shop was built for me close to home but I would need sugar to make the jam. When Lotte returned to port he had no sugar but would try to get some. He said we could make sugar ourselves from sugar beets but would need a refinery. If we grew the sugar beets we would always have a supply. He would try to bring sugar, sugar beets, and sugar beet seeds and then we could decide.
Chapter 18
Again there were complaints that the menfolk were spending too much time in the tavern, and Jarrod's mother was not happy her boy was spending time with the men in the tavern. If they wanted to meet, there should be a meeting hall. A site in town was chosen and the rabbit hutch was relocated over by the school. The usable resources had all been scavenged from the ruin next to the furniture store. A town meeting hall now stood in its place. The men still met at the tavern.
Lotte returned as promised with sugar, sugar beets, and sugar beet seeds. We traded stone for 500 sugar, enough to last quite awhile. The bakery had been making herb bread instead of sugar cookies because we had no sugar. The baker would continue baking bread and I would make plum jam.
It was good to get some stone off the stock piles. We had to add several more stockpiles in different locations but still what was needed was not always close by. Ally, the smith, complained that whenever tools were needed he had to go to a few stock piles to get wood or iron. There was no iron on the small stockpile by the blacksmith shop. So when again he needed iron he decided to go over the hill there by his shop to fetch some iron himself. You would never guess what he found, weary traveler. There by the old forgotten house he found the missing carts and barrows.
;D ;D ;D Cart parking!
;D ;D ;D I have had fun with this map ;D messing things up and then cleaning them up ;D
Chapter 19
Well, the carts and wheelbarrows were cleaned up and returned to their rightful places. Each of them had dried up old cockles and mussels in them. Clean up of the area around the forgotten house began. Back in town there were more young people like Jarrod who wanted places of their own. A sundries shop with living space above was built by the furniture store, and a gift shop was built across from the town hall. Our daughter, Bessiah, moved in with her new husband Grise. That left only 10 year old Giann at home. Our eldest daughter now had 2 children of her own. Mayville's population in early autumn of year 18 was 124, 61 adults, 23 students, and 40 young children. By then another wheelbarrow and a voice calling was heard on the jetty and the barrow with mussels in it turned up by the forgotten house, it would be used to haul away the last of the branches and plant debris from the area. A small hedgerow with evergreen shrubs and berries was found during the clean up, a lot of rabbits were hiding among the branches.
The roadside hedgerow by the school in town was not providing enough herbs for the baker to use in the herb breads so an herbalist went to work not far from the forester by the farm fields.
Chapter 20
By early spring of year 19, Xzavie turned over the Tavern to Jerrod, giving in to his wife's complaint that he spent too much time at the tavern while their children at home were still so young. Jerrod still lived next to the tavern and now had a wife of his own. She would tend the roadside hedgerow which was providing more than enough berries for the tavern's ale.
The ghostly song was still being sung in the tavern late at night when no one else was around. Jerrod snuck closer to the tavern a few times and managed to catch some of the words of the song. The men and the older couples were still trying to pieced together the rest of the words.
When Lotte returned to port with more sugar he also had news from Riverboat Junction. He talked to several old retired river boatmen who remembered ghost stories from this area. The stories were dismissed as just being some of the O'Leary's superstitious nonsense, no offense intended. They believe in fairies and leprechauns and magic, you know.
There was a lot of rain that spring and crop planting got off to a late start. The herbalist by the farm fields said there was a shortage of bees in the area because of all the rain. Some hives were set up next to the growing house. Down by the school a sweet shop was built that would make wholesome honeycomb candy. The late crop planting caused a late harvest and combine with an early frost resulted in crop loss. We had been lucky up till now and were always thankful there were no severe storms. We needed the wheat and assigned another farmer to that field. We decided that the following spring the potato field would be planted with more of the mixed vegetables which were always harvested sooner than the others. There were potatoes in the mix. The sorting process would also space out the availability of the variety of vegetables.
Chapter 21
The weather warmed up nicely in early spring of year 20 and crop planting was underway. We decided we wanted more fruit available in the area by the school and sweet shop. There were 6 students in that school and several children in the surrounding houses would be starting school soon. The area between the school and the beehives was a good place for an apple forester. There were also several young adults living in those house so a country house was built there by the orchard forester for one of the new couples.
We had again been short of logs and firewood and spent some time gathering branches. The wood store was completely empty again so a worker was assigned to bring logs and firewood from outlying stock piles. The driftwood collector had long ago gathered all the branches and burnable debris from the tidal pool. By summer, however, our supplies were good and the harvest was underway.
It had been a good year but perhaps the best part was that the men and older couples finally were satisfied that they now had the words of the tavern song the same as they once were long ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Deeh9n-VI
Chapter 22
When we thought the year couldn't get any better, it did. Lotte returned in early winter with sugar and with a letter.
The letter was from an elf who attended a hobbit festival in the Shire that summer and learned that folks here in Mayville were looking for information about their ancestors and the history of the town. The elf knew from stories passed down from her ancestors that the founder of our town was an O'Leary who brought his new bride with him from the old country. He founded the town and build her a big house on the river. He built the jetty and seafood fisheries so his people would not again be reliant solely on potatoes . His bride continued to be a fish monger like her mother and father before her. When she came down with a fever he called in Elven healers to try to save her. One of the healers was the elf's great great grandmother but even Elven healing couldn't save the fish monger. The O'Leary took her passing very hard and began spending most of his time in the local tavern talking and singing about his lost love. Their children were grown and he did not want to return to that empty house so he stayed in a room at the tavern, and the old house fell into ruin.
The letter made no mention of ghosts but the rest of the story was not hard to piece together. The fish monger's ghost kept returning home with cockles and mussels for dinner but her love was not there, he was mourning her at the local tavern until he too passed on. His spirit remained at the tavern and hers kept looking for him at home. Their spirits can not rest without the other.
The fish monger must have been my great great great grandmother who I look like, those that saw the ghost with the wheelbarrow thought she looked like me. I suggested we restore the old forgotten house and hope our two ghosts will find each other again. Restoration work would begin as soon as weather permitted.
Chapter 23
It was another cold and snowy winter which continued into early spring. Planting was again delayed but the apple orchard was doing well. We would not need paint to restore the old forgotten house so we used some of what we had stored on the new house built by the sweet shop. There was still some paint left in storage.
An orchard forester took some seedlings from one of the hedgerows and began planting a small plum orchard next to the apple orchard. The fruit gatherer would collect the fruits from both orchards plus whatever wild foods there were to find in the area.
We all kept our eyes on the progress being made on the old forgotten house. The restoration was completed not long before the snow began to fall.
Chapter 24
I was very disappointed that my idea didn't work, the wheelbarrow was still heard on the jetty in the early morning hours and the ghostly singing was still heard in the evening at the tavern. Ed had a thought, the singing only occurred after hours when no one was at the tavern, what if the tavern didn't close, what if the men stayed long into the evening? Of course the wives didn't like that idea but it was worth a try. That didn't work either, at least not at first. It took 3 consecutive days of the men taking turns staying at the tavern around the clock and then the ghostly singing finally stopped and did not restart. All remained quiet at the tavern. The sound of the wheelbarrow on the jetty also stopped. In early spring after the snow melted we found an empty wheelbarrow in front of the restored house. Our ghosts had been laid to rest.
In spring of year 22, Mayville was no longer the ghost town it was when we returned after the storm, all the houses had been restored and repainted, all the ruins were gone. New houses and new buildings were being built and the town was thriving. We built a daily news next to the post office, whatever news was brought by the river boatman could be written out for anyone to pick up and read. We built a food store by the sweet shop and school. Our food supply, as always, was good thanks to our farm fields of grain and vegetables and our seafood fisheries and our fisherman, and of course our hedgerows.
Chapter 25
Those hedgerows we found and cleaned up were really useful and decorative as well.
The 3 hedgerows down by the paint house looked so sunny and summery. One gave us apples, strawberries, wild oats, honey and rosehips. Another gave us walnuts, sunseeds, berries, flax, and branches for firewood. The pretty roadside hedgerow gave us flax and eggs from the grouse that were nesting there.
The 3 hedgerows by the tavern had shrubbery in pretty autumn colors, probably because of the cold wind coming down from the northwest across the open moors. The hedgerows still had a bit of summer too them though. One provided hazelnuts, sunseeds, corn, and branches, another with a small pond gave us walnuts, wild oats, mushrooms, and duck eggs. Along the roadside the shrubbery gave us berries and branches. We got more branches and berries from the wintery looking hedgerow by the forgotten house, the white snowshoe rabbits hiding among the branches provided us with rabbit meat.
And then there was spring, our favorite time of year here in Mayville. The hedgerow by our house still had hazelnuts for the picking and branches to be gathered, asparagus, mushrooms, and wild oats sprouted as soon as the snow melted. The spring blooming forsythias were beautiful. The second hedgerow had my favorite plum tree, more hazelnuts, wild honey, and rabbit meat from the many rabbits hiding there. Asparagus and herbs grew in abundance along the roadside in spring, just in time for our May Day celebration. Children would dance around the May Pole. We had a lot to celebrate here in Mayville.
Dancing around the May Pole brings fond memories. As a youngster, I and my friends would look forward to May 1st. Big celebration at the Park. Families with children running around, mothers setting up picnic spots, fathers starting the park bar-b-que grills. Right after lunch everyone would gather around the huge May Pole, well I thought it was huge, little tyke as I was, the kids would all grab a ribbon hanging on the May Pole and then dance around the pole weaving the ribbons until the entire pole was covered with the woven ribbons. While kids danced around the pole homemade ice cream mixers began cranking. Soon came the best part, homemade ice cream, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. You could run from mixer to mixer making your own Neapolitan treat. Such fond memories, something my grandchildren never experienced when they would young. Seventy years ago thing were very different. Wide eyed six year-olds running free in the town park, watched by everyone, the entire little town one big family.
Thank you for that memory.
@Kristahfer Times have certainly changed, not always for the better. What nice memories, thank you for sharing them. :)
Chapter 26
Yes, we have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. We were lucky to have met the 2 couples who convince us to return to our town and rebuilt it, we are glad we listened to them. With their help Mayville was transformed from a shell of a ghost town to the beautiful thriving town it is today. In late spring of year 22 we now have 144 citizens, 74 adults, 31 students, and 39 young children. Our education rate is 72% and everyone is happy and healthy.
We still need a few homes for new couples, we have 41 families but only 36 homes but did I tell you we now have a book store on main street next to the daily news and it has maps. Yes, maps. Lotte, the river boatman, managed to get us some of the latest maps and Mayville is on it. And guess what, weary traveler, he marked one of the maps with an X where a new festival grounds has been built, it's not far from here to the southwest. Yes, and Ed and I are going. We missed the May Day festival but soon it will be Midsummer Day. I'm taking along some of my plum jam to be judged, maybe I will win a prize. Your welcome to come along, weary traveler.
The End
Info and link to download of Kid Abandoned Places SE can be found here:
http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=2093.0
Info and link to download of Kid Hedgerow can be found here:
http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=3964.0